Diplomats Defense; Pritchard Secure Salem Berth

May 10, 2009

LANCASTER, Pa. - #2 Franklin & Marshall's defense clamped
down in the second half, limiting #8 Tufts high-octane offense to
three goals in the second half of a 12-7 win in the NCAA Regional
Final. Jen Pritchard broke three records with a five goal
performance to spearhead the Diplomats (19-1) assault.

Pritchard scored five goals, reestablishing the NCAA postseason
mark for career goals in the postseason at 48. The record had stood
at 46. She also reset the Centennial Conference career mark for
goals scored moving to 262 on her career. Swarthmore graduate,
Katie Tarr, had held the record at 260. Pritchard's final point of
the day moved her to 313 on her career, besting the 312 posted by
Lauren Petrella '94.

The Diplomats defense limited Tufts (16-3) to three second half
goals on nine looks and held the Jumbos' leading scorer, Amanda
Roberts, to just a single tally on Sunday. Lidia Sanza
recorded eight saves, four in each half, when the shots did get
through. The Jumbos got three goals from the eight meter arc.
F&M also successfully disrupted Tufts' transition game,
stifling six of their 22 clear attempts.

The victory sets up a semifinal rematch of the 2008 National
Championship. The Diplomats will face Hamilton, 13-9 winners over
Middlebury, on Kerr Field at Roanoke, site of the Continentals 13-6
NCAA Championship game win over F&M a year ago.

Tufts opened the game with a 3-2 lead before Pritchard went to
work. She accounted for half of an F&M four goal run that put
the Diplomats ahead for good. Her fourth goal, early in the second
half, broke the two records and held up as the 24th game
winning goal of her career. 2:02 later on a free position shot,
Pritchard broke Petrella's mark.

Meredith Lussier recorded a hat trick and an assist in the in
the win. Lussier is now a single goal away from becoming the sixth
active Diplomat with 100 goals in her career. Shannon Summers
tallied three points to become the third Diplomat to reach 300 in a
career. Her milestone was reached after collecting a Hargest feed
from behind the cage. Summers made a pair of nifty moves to find
the open shot. She joins Pritchard and Petrella in the 300-point
club. Sarah Meisenberg became the fifth F&M player to reach 100
assists in her career with her lone helper in the game.